She rejected IIM for baking: How Megha Sarayan built a Rs 2 crore per year business with just Rs 5,000 and secured Rs 1 crore on Shark Tank India

In a world where an MBA from the much-coveted IIM is considered a dream come true for most people, one young woman turned down the offer to pursue an MBA from IIM Kozhikode. Today, her bakery business is earning more than Rs 2 crore per year. Megha Sarayan, an economics graduate from the University of Calcutta, decided against pursuing the coveted MBA degree despite clearing the entrance examination and the gruelling interviews but decided to build her bakery business. What began as a small experiment in her mother’s kitchen gradually evolved into Land Of Cakes, an expanding venture that found customers through online food delivery platforms. According to StartupPedia, her business, which was launched with just Rs 5,000 without any investors. Today, the business she has built from scratch earns more than Rs 2 crore annually.

From Student of Economics To Baker at Home

In 2017, Megha Sarayan studied economics at the University of Calcutta. A student with strong academic achievements, she never expected that baking would ultimately turn into her profession instead of a traditional corporate job. Her journey as an entrepreneur started after she participated in a casual food workshop that ignited her interest in baking. What started as a hobby, making cakes for family and friends quickly grew into an exciting business venture.

Seeing the promise in her work, a friend motivated her to begin selling them. Simultaneously, Zomato was growing its footprint in Kolkata. Megha contacted the food delivery platform, which consented to showcase her business even though she did not possess a formal business licence at that moment.


Lacking any entrepreneurial experience and featuring just her signature chocolate truffle cake on the menu, she started taking orders from her mother's kitchen. Her income for the initial month totalled only ₹3,000. Slowly, though, customer referrals assisted her in drawing in additional orders.

By middle of 2018, Megha realised that running business from a home kitchen would not help her expand it, so she rented a small 100 square feet space and launched Land Of Cakes with just Rs 5,000. She had neither external investors nor experienced mentors to guide her, relying instead on her confidence in the business concept.

Her modus operandi was simple – preparing cakes only after confirmed orders. She eventually received between seven and eight orders daily. A major breakthrough arrived when Megha entered into an exclusive arrangement with Zomato. By agreeing to sell through the platform exclusively, Land Of Cakes received preferential promotional support, substantially increasing its visibility among potential customers.

The strategy delivered impressive results, pushing the bakery's daily order count to approximately 25.

Covid 19 Changed Everything

Just as the business was gaining momentum, the pandemic disrupted operations across the country. Land Of Cakes also experienced difficulties forcing Megha to release her employees, as lockdown restrictions made normal business activities increasingly challenging.

However, the circumstances soon presented an unexpected opportunity. With several physical bakeries closed, online food delivery gained importance, while reduced competition created additional room for businesses operating digitally.

Land Of Cakes began receiving a surge of orders. Without an employee team to assist her, Megha relied on her father and brother to manage production and fulfil customer demands.

Recalling the demanding period, she told Startup Pedia that the family sometimes baked continuously to keep pace with incoming orders. Although the experience was exhausting and disorganised, it demonstrated the strength of the bakery's demand and the loyalty of its customers.

Rejecting Dream Offer

Besides managing the bakery, Megha also prepared for several entrance examinations and managed to get an offer to study at IIM Kozhikode. But she had a dilemma – pursue an MBA or work on her fledgling business? Ultimately she chose the latter.

“After deep introspection and multiple discussions with my family, I made the bold decision to turn down IIM. I had put in too much effort to let it all go. However, walking away from my business at that stage would have meant shutting it down,” she told Startup Pedia.

By 2021, she had expanded her business through three cloud kitchens, modified her menu. In 2024, she floated on D'Go, a 15-seater café under the Land Of Cakes brand in the Salt Lake City area of Metro Kolkata. It quickly became a popular grub spot for young graduates and corporate professionals. Today, their cheesecakes and brownies have become a major hit.

In 2026, Land Of Cakes secured 1 Rs crore in funding on Shark Tank India Season 5 from investor Anupam Mittal. In 2024, its annual revenue was an impressive Rs 2 crore.

Megha is hardly the only entrepreneur to have built a successful business without an IIT tag or even an MBA. She has tycoons like OYO Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath for company.